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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team is at home for a pair of non-conference games this weekend, beginning with a 7 p.m. Friday contest against Massachusetts Lowell in Regents Hall. NKU will also play host to North Alabama at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Norse are 6-1 overall and own five consecutive victories going into the weekend. NKU will resume Great Lakes Valley Conference play Jan. 3, when Rockhurst visits Regents Hall for a 7:45 p.m. game. The Norse also play host to Drury on Jan. 5 at 3:15 p.m. OFFENSIVE SHOW: Prior to the Christmas break on Dec. 19, NKU posted a 124-58 win against Indiana-East. NKU drained a school-record 19 3-pointers - including 13 treys in the second half - en route to notching the largest margin of victory (66 points) in school history. Anthony Teague connected on six shots from 3-point range to lead the Norse. NKU also dished out a school-record 36 assists in that victory. The previous Norse single-game record of 32 assists was reached twice (vs. Akron in 1978, and vs. Thomas More in 1988). DOMINANT PERFORMANCE: Norse senior center Travis Rasso scored a career-high 31 points in that game on 14-for-19 shooting from the field. The former Boone County High School standout also grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds. Rasso averages 9.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He is also shooting 70.5 percent from the field. TREY-RIFFIC: NKU leads the GLVC in 3-pointers made with an average of 10.71 per game. The Norse are also No. 1 in the GLVC in 3-point shooting percentage at .452. IN GOOD HANDS: David McFarland continues to lead the GLVC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 6.60. The junior guard has 33 assists and only five turnovers this season. NKU sophomore guard Scott Bibbins is second in the GLVC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.57, while teammate Billy Finnell is third at 2.43. Finnell ranks fourth in the GLVC with 4.86 assists per game. IMPRESSIVE DEBUT: DeAaron Williams joined NKU just in time for the Indiana-East game, and the transfer from Illinois Central College scored 18 points. Williams, a 6-foot-5 junior forward from Peoria, Ill., buried four 3-pointers and added four rebounds in just 20 minutes of action. MORTON’S NUMBERS: NKU senior forward Harrison Morton averages 15.1 ppg and is shooting 58.1 percent from the field. He also leads NKU with 12 steals and has made 75 percent of his free throws.
ABOUT UMASS LOWELL: The River Hawks, members of the NCAA Division II Northeast-10 Conference, are 4-4 overall. UMass Lowell is led in scoring by senior guard Dashon Harper, who averages 14.9 ppg. NKU and UMass Lowell have never met in men’s basketball. ABOUT NORTH ALABAMA: The Lions are 9-4 overall. Casey Holt averages 19.1 ppg to lead North Alabama, which averages 86.2 ppg. THE LAST TIME AGAINST UNA: On Dec. 30, 2006, Anthony Teague drained three consecutive 3-point shots to spark an NKU rally that forced overtime, and the Norse took advantage by outscoring North Alabama 20-14 in the extra session en route to a 100-94 victory. Teague finished 21 points, and he shot 8-for-12 from the field. Teague came off the bench and scored 10 points in the first half as NKU took a 38-34 lead at the break. Travis Rasso added eight of his 14 points in a reserve role during the first half for the Norse. With Esmir Guzonjic scoring 26 points, and Milton Nance adding 25 points, North Alabama rallied in the second half. A Guzonjic layup with 5:21 remaining gave the Lions a 68-63 lead, but Rasso countered with a basket to bring NKU within three points at 68-65. After Kenny Johnson hit two free throws to give North Alabama a 70-65 lead, Teague began his long-range barrage. His 3-pointer with 3:43 left cut the deficit to 70-68. Moments later, Teague struck again with a 24-footer to bring NKU within a point at 72-71. His last 3-pointer gave NKU a 75-74 lead with 2:15 remaining. North Alabama held an 80-78 lead with seven seconds remaining in regulation after Quinn Beckwith made one of two free throws. Billy Finnell, however, went hard to the basket on NKU's final possession and drew a foul with 0.5 seconds on the clock. Finnell made both free throws to force overtime. In the extra session, Vincent Humphrey scored a pair of baskets and Wright came up with a key steal and layup. Wright and Kevin Schappell (15 points) each made four free throws in the overtime to seal the victory. Wright finished with 18 points, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals. David McFarland and James Cripe each added eight points for the Norse. |
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